[Extrinsic impression or submucous tumor? Contribution of endosonography to clinical assessment].

Impressions of the lumen are frequently found during EGD. We examined 47 patients with 51 impressions by endoscopic ultrasonography and could clear their origin in 44 cases. We found 8 submucosal tumors, 1 submucosal cyst, 5 cysts and 2 malignancies of organs in the neighbourhood; in 28 cases the impression was caused by anatomical variations. In our opinion endoscopic ultrasonography is the method of choice in clearing the nature of impressions of the upper GI-tract.